COLOMBO, Dec 24, 2023 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s police announced Sunday the arrests of nearly 15,000 people during a week-long military-backed anti-narcotics drive, a crackdown denounced by rights activists. Police said their operation, code-named “Yuktiya” or “Justice”, led to the seizure of almost 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of narcotics, including 272 kg of cannabis, 35 kg of hashish and nine kilograms of heroin. Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is being used as a drug […]
Asia
UN urges rescue of 185 Rohingya adrift in Indian Ocean
GENEVA, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – The United Nations called Saturday for the urgent rescue of 185 people, mainly women and children, on a distressed boat last heard to be near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean. Around 70 of those onboard are children and 88 are women, the UNHCR refugee agency said in a statement. “At least a dozen are feared to be in critical condition with one individual reported to […]
White House urges ‘serious scrutiny’ of US Steel takeover deal
WASHINGTON, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – A proposed deal that would see US Steel Corp bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel should be closely investigated by American authorities, the White House said Thursday, warning it could have national security implications. Unveiling the planned transaction this week, the two companies depicted the deal as a marriage of the holders of top technologies that would boost steel output and accelerate efforts toward decarbonization. But US Steel’s possible sale […]
Japan to send Patriot missiles to US as stocks dwindle
TOKYO, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – Japan loosened arms export controls Friday to enable it to sell domestically made Patriot missiles to the United States, which is seeking to stock up after sending the weapon systems to Ukraine. Washington has supplied Kyiv with the highly-effective Patriot air defence systems as part of the massive Western military aid effort to help President Volodymyr Zelensky’s country fight back against Russia’s invasion. “We welcome the Government […]
Japan approves record $56 billion defense budget amid regional tensions
TOKYO, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – Japan approved Friday a record defence budget worth $56 billion for the next fiscal year, as tensions rise with China and North Korea. The 7.95 trillion yen ($56 billion) draft budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was approved by the cabinet, in line with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge to raise defence spending over the next few years. Japan has a pacifist post-war constitution, which limits its military capacity […]
China urges Philippines to make ‘rational choice’ over maritime tensions
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – China on Thursday warned the Philippines to “make the rational choice” following Manila’s recent efforts to challenge Beijing’s South China Sea claims. Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships blasting water cannon at Philippine boats this month and there was also a collision between vessels from the two countries during tense clashes at flashpoint reefs. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday said: “We hope that […]
S. Korean court upholds compensation for Japanese forced labour
SEOUL, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea’s highest court upheld on Thursday rulings by lower courts that ordered two Japanese companies to compensate South Korean victims of wartime forced labour. Relations between the two US allies have long been testy due to bitter memories of Japan’s brutal occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. However, ties have been improving as the conservative government of President Yoon Suk Yeol has sought to bury […]
China quake survivors recover in hospitals as toll rises to 135
By Sébastien RICCI JISHISHAN, China, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese earthquake survivors recovered in hospital as rescue teams rushed to deliver supplies on Thursday, the third day since the country’s deadliest quake in years killed 135 people. The toll rose from the previous day’s 134, state news agency Xinhua said, as rescuers continued to search for victims buried as the soil liquified in northwestern Qinghai Province. Almost 1,000 were injured across Qinghai and neighbouring […]
Dogs, antennas and honey for Japan’s big bear problem
By Simon Sturdee and Harumi Ozawa KARUIZAWA, Japan, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – Thousands of bears are being shot in Japan each year as they become more and more of a problem. Junpei Tanaka and his dog Rela, straining at her leash in the woods, have a kinder, smarter way. People moving from rural areas and Japan’s ageing society — plus climate change affecting bears’ food and hibernation time — are prompting ever more of […]
Hong Kong unionist jailed for taking sister’s phone, laptop before search
HONG KONG, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – A veteran unionist in Hong Kong was jailed Thursday for six months for “perverting the course of justice” by removing a phone and laptop from her sister’s residence before a police search to investigate a national security offence. The defendant Marilyn Tang, 63, and her elder sister Elizabeth, were both pioneers in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy union movement and active since the 1980s. Elizabeth was arrested in March over […]
Extreme weather year ends with coldest December ever in China
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – More low temperature records tumbled across China on Thursday, as the country endures a persistent cold snap that has crowned a year of extreme weather. The national weather office said in a social media post that more than 20 stations posted all-time December lows in the early hours of Thursday. They included Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, where a reading of -29.1 degrees Celsius (-20.4 Fahrenheit) […]
China warns Manila to ‘act with caution’ after maritime clashes
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – China has warned the Philippines that it “must act with caution”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said, following a string of incidents in the disputed South China Sea as Manila increasingly stands up to Chinese assertiveness in the region. Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships blasting water cannon at Philippine boats this month and there was also a collision between vessels from the two countries during tense […]
